The Defence Committee is appointed to examine on
behalf of the House of Commons the expenditure, administration
and policy of the Ministry of Defence (and any associated public
bodies). Its constitution and powers are set out in House of Commons
Standing Order No. 152.

The Committee has a maximum of eleven members, of
whom the quorum for any formal proceedings is three. The members
of the Committee are appointed by the House and unless discharged
remain on the Committee until the next dissolution of Parliament.
The present membership of the Committee is as follows:[1]

On 16 July 1997, the Committee elected Mr Bruce
George as its Chairman.

The Committee has the power to require the submission
of written evidence and documents, to examine witnesses, and to
make Reports to the House. In the footnotes to this Report, references
to oral evidence are indicated by 'Q' followed by the question
number, references to the written evidence are indicated by 'Ev'
followed by a page number.

The Committee may meet at any time (except when Parliament
is prorogued or dissolved) and at any place within the United
Kingdom. The Committee may meet concurrently with other committees
or sub-committees established under Standing Order No. 152 and
with the House's European Scrutiny Committee (or any of its sub-committees)
for the purpose of deliberating, taking evidence or considering
draft reports. The Committee may exchange documents and evidence
with any of these committees, as well as with the House's Public
Accounts, Deregulation and Environmental Audit committees.

The Reports and evidence of the Committee are published
by The Stationery Office by Order of the House. All publications
of the Committee (including press notices) are on the internet
at www.parliament.uk/commons/selcom/defhome.htm. A list of Reports
of the Committee in the present Parliament is at the end of this
volume.

All correspondence should be addressed to The Clerk
of the Defence Committee, Committee Office, House of Commons,
London SW1A 0AA. The telephone number for general inquiries is
020 7219 5745; the Committee's e-mail address is [email protected]